


Again, with feeling

by FlorBexter



Category: HIStory3 - 圈套 | HIStory3: Trapped
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Humour, M/M, Romance, Shao Fei needs a date for a christmas dinner, Trope - Enemies to Lovers, Trope - Fake Dating, h3trappedcollection, it ends up being Tang Yi, trapped gift exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22019068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlorBexter/pseuds/FlorBexter
Summary: Shao Fei needs a date for a Christmas Dinner. He had no idea how but it ended up being Tang Yi - his sworn enemy since High School. How hard could it be to fake date Tang Yi for one evening?or"Anger powered Shao Fei’s steps and he had to talk himself out of throwing his stuff on the ground and stomping on them. Tang Yi made him so angry! The asshole studied business management and shouldn’t even be able to cross Shao Fei’s path that often. They were so many courses on this university why was he not busy bothering every person from those and leaving criminology and its students alone?"
Relationships: Jack | Fang Liang Dian/Zhao Li An | Zhao Zi, Meng Shao Fei/Tang Yi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 278
Collections: Trapped Gift Exchange





	Again, with feeling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Carey_Miller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carey_Miller/gifts).



> What a great request! I had heaps of fun writing this but before you dive into this story here are a few extra notes:  
> \- Li Zhen is Shao Fei's older sister so in conclusion, Tang Yi isn't her son  
> \- Tang Yi was adopted by Tang Guo Dong  
> \- For this to be a university setting Shao Fei and Zhao Zi are studying criminology and you just have to accept that you still are allowed to be a police officer afterwards :D  
> \- This isn't taking place over only three days I'm sorry about that but I hope you can forgive me ^^°  
> \- I hope you have fun reading this!

# Again, with feeling

Shao Fei stared at the invite with a mixture of dread and horror. The card was thick and in a colour, his sister would call ivory or eggshell-white. He had thought she made a joke when she told him she wanted to hold a Christmas Party.

“Free food,” Zhao Zi said and flicked his fingers against the card. “Why are you making such a face?”

She had encircled the line where he should write down a plus-one. He had thought she had made a joke about that too.

He smacked his head against the table with a groan.

“Dàjiě wants me to bring a date to the Christmas Party.” But instead of hearing a supportive sound from Zhao Zi he heard him ripping his own envelope open and a silent “Oh shit”.

Shao Fei lifted his head and Zhao Zi showed him the circle around his plus-one line and the neat handwriting of Li Zhen: _‘You’re not allowed to ask Shao Fei to be your date!’_.

“Isn’t it too early for her to play matchmaker for us?”, he asked. “I’m not sure if I like free food that much.”

“You’re not going to bail on me! If I must go alone, I will…” Shao Fei tried to think of something he would do that wouldn’t get him suspended from the university. In the end, he let his head fall on the table again.

“I’m just not going to go,” he said to the cafeteria in general and wanted to add that his sister was going to kill him, but a pair of shoes appeared in his vision and the ball of dread in his belly told him to whom they belonged.

“It’s going to be a blessing not seeing you at my house, Meng Shao Fei.”

Sometimes Shao Fei dreamed up a version of reality in which he wouldn’t react to Tang Yi and his annoying person but – as always – this was the other reality. In which he straightened up, sighed and threw Tang Yi an annoyed look.

“What do you want, Tang Yi?”

Who in their right mind wore custom made leather shoes to university? Who wore a blindingly white button-up shirt with ironed edges sharp enough to cut you? Did the business administration student’s think potential employers would hide in the trash cans and if you weren’t dressed for a management position, they would tackle you to the ground?

Tang Yi threw him a smirky half-smile and Shao Fei felt the need to punch him.

“I’m happy to hear that you’re not going to be at the Christmas Dinner but not surprised that the reason is that you’re not able to get a date.”

“I would be able to get a date, asshole. I just don’t want to!”

“Oh yes, the excuse of every undatable person ever.”

Shao Fei threw his hands up because why was Tang Yi even here? The economics campus was miles away from the little cafeteria in the basement of the old and sturdy administration building. Most students didn’t even know the cafeteria existed.

Tang Yi leaned back against the table next to theirs and his whole stance made Shao Fei want to throttle him. No one else was able to enrage him so.

“So sad,” Tang Yi said and tilted his head to give Shao Fei a once-over from head to toe. “You wouldn’t even get a person to date you for 24 hours, for one lousy evening.”

Shao Fei grimaced and started to pack up his stuff.

“Sounds like projecting to me,” he answered and stood up. It was also very infuriating that he had to look up to Tang Yi, even though he was younger than him. “ _You_ wouldn’t be able to date me for 24 hours. Just because you’re not up to that challenge doesn’t mean braver people don’t exist.”

But the beautiful thing was, Shao Fei thought, as Tang Yi straightened himself up and pushed back from the table he had leaned on, there was always a breaking point to Tang Yi’s drafted indifference. And Shao Fei was the key to it.

“Yeah? If I would date you for one whole day you would fall in love with me and I’m nice enough to spare you the heartbreak.”

Shao Fei snorted. “You’re flirting ain’t shit, ‘Prince of the Campus’ my ass.”

“Fuck you, Meng Shao Fei.”

“Try me.”

There wasn’t much space between them anymore, but Shao Fei was used to almost get nose to nose with Tang Yi. At first it had been a great way to throw him off his path, but the git had gotten used to it too and these days they got so close that he could almost feel Tang Yi’s breath on his face. No one was going to pull back.

“The 22nd of December, you and me, I’m going to pick you up at five and you better wear something that won’t embarrass me.”

“Done!”, Shao Fei declared and shouldered his way past Tang Yi. He needed to scream at the sky.

+++

“Sooooo…,” Zhao Zi said while his best friend walked out of the cafeteria and Tang Yi stomped to the display of sandwiches at the checkout. “That just happened.”

He heard a snort on his right side and blinked in surprise. Had Jack been here the whole time? Tang Yi’s red-haired best friend slid into the seat Shao Fei had vacated and put a lunchbox in front of him. Zhao Zi eyed it with open interest.

“It was just a matter of time until they would agree to do something _really_ stupid.”

“Shao Fei at least solved his problem with the date,” Zhao Zi pouted and leaned forward to get a full view of Jack’s food. Were those dumplings?

“Why do you need a date? Aren’t plus-ones optional?” Jack showed him his invitation and yes, there was no threatening message from the woman who was like an older sister to Zhao Zi.

Zhao Zi took his chopsticks and tried to calculate his chances to steal something of Jack’s food without him getting angry at him.

“She’s suddenly involved in our social life, I don’t know,” he said and tried to remember when Li Zhen had started to bug them about dating. She maybe had said something about them being too obsessed with cold cases and their criminology studies the last time she had bought them noodles… he hadn’t really listened.

“Oh wait!” Zhao Zi yelled and pointed his finger at Jack. “You’re invited too!”

“I am.”

“Would you like to be my date? I really, really, really want to go. The food alone is going to be awesome! What do you say?”

Jack blinked at him and he must have gotten some of his lunch in the wrong pipe because his voice sounded rough when he said: “Sure.”

“Great! Oh, do you mind if I try one of the dumplings? They look delicious.”

+++

Anger powered Shao Fei’s steps and he had to talk himself out of throwing his stuff on the ground and stomping on them. Tang Yi made him so angry! The asshole studied business management and shouldn’t even be able to cross Shao Fei’s path that often. They were so many courses on this university why was he not busy bothering every person from those and leaving criminology and its students alone?

His phone vibrated and he fished it out of his pocket with an impatient sound.

“Yes?”, he answered the call.

“You forgot me.”

“What?” Shao Fei looked down at the caller information and then beside him but yes, there was no Zhao Zi. Oh.

“I’m still in the cafeteria. Where are you?”

Shao Fei took a deep breath and had to admit that he had no idea.

“There is a bench,” he said, and Zhao Zi just laughed at him.

“Are you still angry or do you realize that Tang Yi is your date for the Christmas Dinner?”

Shao Fei sat down hard on the bench and suppressed a yell. He was always on the verge of yelling after an encounter with Tang Yi.

“He’s not going to do it,” he said after some deep breathes, “he’s going to chicken out.”

“Oh, like he chickened out when you dared him to do the spicy noodle challenge, or like you chickened out when he said you would never be able to do the marathon?”

Shao Fei frowned.

“Okay, yes, maybe we don’t have the best track record of chickening out but he’s not going to pretend to date me in front of his father. You know that he thinks the man walks on water. Doing this would mean he had to lie to his face, he’s not going to do that.”

“If you think so.” Zhao Zi sounded doubtful and ended the call with: “We’ll meet at the dorm, okay?”

Shao Fei just wanted to put his phone back, but his stomach growled so he was about to write Zhao Zi to bring him his lunch he had forgotten in the cafeteria when a text appeared on the screen.

_‘Meet me tomorrow to pick out suits. I’m not going to bring you as my date looking like you do now’_

He missed it. He missed the one term he had studied without Tang Yi around. It had been peaceful; it had been great.

“This sucks,” he said with feeling.

+++

“Are you gonna tell your sister who you will bring?”

Shao Fei removed the pillow he had laid over his face and glared at Zhao Zi. He was sitting next to his bed and looked at him as if he was an interesting specimen who would soon do a trick to entertain him. Shao Fei snatched the noodle box out of his hands and sat up to eat.

“Hey!”

“Those are my noodles and we both know it.”

“Maybe, and maybe savour then while you can. Your sister has a mean right hook.”

“I just say ‘surprise’ as to who is my plus-one.”

Zhao Zi put a hand on his shoulder and said solemnly: “I never knew a braver man. It was nice knowing you.”

“Oh, get it together. It’s not going to be hard to pretend to like Tang Yi for a few hours. I should even be able to avoid him.”

“But lying to your sister isn’t hard?”

Shao Fei used the pillow to smack Zhao Zi. “Get off my case. Shouldn’t you be thinking about your own date or are you going to decline the invitation?”

Zhao Zi just waggled his eyebrows and Shao Fei was one second away from pouring the noodles over his head, but he was hungry. He and Tang Yi had agreed to meet the next day to pick out suits and Shao Fei felt nervous. He had been successful about avoiding Tang Yi for a couple of weeks – not counting when Tang Yi had kind of tracked him down and they had ended up quarrelling – and it would be hard to spend so much time with him suddenly.

“It’s going to be a disaster,” he told his noodles.

He was early the next day, but Tang Yi already waited for him in front of the suit shop. It didn’t look like one from the outside, more as if someone was dealing with expensive antiques. Not even opening hours were attached to the door… had Tang Yi made an appointment?

“I’m here,” Shao Fei announced when he reached Tang Yi and almost commented on the casual linen trousers he wore. But he made a bet with himself to not provoke Tang Yi or get provoked by him.

“Finally,” Tang Yi said, and Shao Fei put his annoyance in a bright smile. He would smile so much today his cheeks would hurt at the end of it.

“Come on. I don’t have time to supervise you the whole day.”

Smile, just smile, Shao Fei told himself but, nonetheless, stopped Tang Yi with a tug on his shirt.

“I have something to say before we go in.”

“That you don’t have a fashion sense? I already know that.”

His cheeks already hurt but Shao Fei was able to fight down the urge to throttle Tang Yi, so he said: “I want to make sure we’re on the same page. I don’t want my sister to feel like I deceived her with making you my date. So, for those hours I want her to think this is serious. If you can’t do that then say so now and I’m going to ask my junior to come with me.” 

Tang Yi stared at him for a moment and then scoffed: “Don’t worry, she’s going to be convinced.” He turned towards the door and Shao Fei followed him.

He had thought the shop would smell old and stale but there was a citrusy note in the air. It was cosy but also modern and Shao Fei sighed relieved when he saw a comfy leather couch. He didn’t have to stand the whole time Tang Yi probably needed to decide on a suit.

He let his eyes wander over the collections while Tang Yi greeted a saleswoman as if she was his best friend. She even called him Xiao Tang and Shao Fei hid his smile and pretended he didn’t hear it.

“Is your sister coming to the party, too?”

Shao Fei had met Zuo Hong Ye only one time and even though she had acted all proper she had looked at him with fire in her eyes and he had known would they have been alone she would have kicked him against his shin. Hard.

“No. She is still in Hongkong and will be back for the Lunar New Year.”

Shao Fei pursed his lips at that information and followed Tang Yi’s wave when he wanted him to get his body measured. It was a weird feeling standing there.

“Is my dàjiě already taking over your house?”, he asked to distract himself from his uneasiness. “I wouldn’t have thought she would hold the dinner at your mansion.”

“It was my father’s idea. He’s in charge of the meal and takes it very seriously.” There was a mocking undertone to Tang Yi’s sentence and Shao Fei was a bit surprised to hear him talk about his father like that. As if he was used to teasing him about his cooking.

Shao Fei knew about Tang Guo Dong cooking skills, of course. Li Zhen talked about the Tang’s a lot and even when he ignored or toned out her voice some information trickled through.

Finally, the measurement was over, and Shao Fei watched how the saleswoman stared at the figures for a few minutes and then, without even hesitating for a second, she walked up to a rack and chose a suit jacket and a trouser. On the way back she picked up a white button-down and asked Shao Fei to try them on.

“Not here, idiot,” Tang Yi said when Shao Fei was about to undress himself. He then proceeded to show him the hidden dressing room behind a wall of displayed ties and Shao Fei smiled, with gritted teeth, but he smiled.

“And this tie,” Tang Yi ordered before the door closed and threw a tie at Shao Fei’s face.

“Oh, he’s so lucky I have still a long way to go before I carry a gun,” he murmured.

He had a bit of an existential crisis when he came to the question if he should wear an undershirt but decided that whatever he did Tang Yi would find a way to criticise him anyway.

“Are you ready?”

“Almost,” Shao Fei answered but Tang Yi was already inside the changing room and eyed him critically. Was this some pre-fitting for a fashion show or why was Tang Yi taking this so seriously?

“Are there going to be a lot of people from _Xing Tian Meng_ at the Christmas dinner?”, Shao Fei asked to distract Tang Yi and put the tie around his neck.

“Mostly family and close friends,” Tang Yi answered.

Shao Fei just made a sound and tried to remember the tie binding trick Li Zhen had taught him years ago. Something about a rabbit and a hole?

“You think they want to announce they’re dating on the Christmas Dinner?”

Shao Fei looked up from the impossible task of binding the tie. Their eyes met through their reflections in the mirror and with a sigh, Tang Yi swatted Shao Fei’s hands away.

“I hope she would tell me first before announcing it in front of people who aren’t her brother,” Shao Fei murmured and tried to see what Tang Yi was doing but Tang Yi flicked a finger against his chin and made a tsking sound as if he scolded a little kid. Shao Fei rolled his eyes, leaned his head back and waited.

“I think they’re already dating.”

Shao Fei snorted.

“You sound mighty calm considering what a tantrum you threw in high-school at the mere thought of them glancing at each other.”

It had been a joyful day when Li Zhen had landed the contract for the security service for _Xing Tian Meng_. Her little company had finally gotten the recognition they deserved, and she had been able to make Shao Fei’s dream come true to study criminology with the money she would make because of this contract.

A few weeks later Li Zhen and _Xing Tian Meng’s_ CEO Tang Guo Dung had discovered that Shao Fei and Tang Yi went to the same high-school and the next day Shao Fei had to announce Tang Yi as his mortal enemy because he had insulted his big sister.

Shao Fei was forced to lower his head again when Tang Yi pulled at the tie. He was very close. And so damn attractive. Even though Shao Fei tried his best to ignore the fact that Tang Yi was studying at the same university somehow every little gossip about the ‘prince of campus’ reached his ears. Annoying.

Tang Yi stared at him as if he wanted to know every thought running through Shao Fei’s mind, his dark eyes scanning his face as if he searched for something. Shao Fei refused to back down and stared evenly back.

“You know I’m adopted, right?”, he asked, and the content of his questions felt like a dose of cold water. Shao Fei frowned and nodded.

“There was a lot going on at that time, with my birth parents I mean, and I didn’t handle it well. I should apologize to your sister I think.”

“She would just pretend you didn’t do anything wrong,” Shao Fei murmured back and stepped away from Tang Yi.

It had hurt her, Shao Fei knew, the words Tang Yi had to repeat in front of the schoolmaster, her, and Tang Guo Dong after Shao Fei had given him a split lip and black eye for it. But since then a lot had happened and now, she was the other owner of _Xing Tian Meng_ , and Shao Fei knew that Tang Yi treated her with the respect she deserved. She often enough enthused about Tang Yi’s manners and would punch Shao Fei against the arm with the complaint why her little brother couldn’t be so charming. Shao Fei hadn’t the heart to tell her what kind of asshole Tang Yi most of the time was to him.

Shao Fei put on the suit jacket and looked himself over in the mirror.

“I guess I clean up nice,” he murmured.

“I still can’t believe you don’t own a suit,” Tang Yi said, and Shao Fei had the feeling he wanted to keep adjusting parts of Shao Fei’s outfit. The man was obsessed.

“I’m a student why would I own anything else than sweatpants and shirts?”

Tang Yi just stared at him and Shao Fei felt his need to throttle him like a physical sensation.

“So, we have the suit and _holy shit_!”

“What?”

Shao Fei had slipped out of the jacket and his eyes had landed on the price tag. Air! Why wasn’t he able to breathe?

“This much money for a suit? What is this? This is a robbery! Are you serious?”

Tang Yi snatched the jacket from his hands to look at the price and frowned at Shao Fei.

“That’s not that expensive. This suit is handmade, top quality. It’s worth the price.”

“I’m going to rent a suit,” Shao Fei decided. He wasn’t going to pay a small fortune for a piece of clothing he would only wear once. Tang Yi took a step back and looked at him as if he had insulted him.

“You don`t need to rent a suit, you can buy this suit.”

“I’m not going to buy this suit.”

“Then I’m going to buy it for you. I’m not letting you rent some misfitting excuse for a suit.”

“You’re not going to buy me this suit!”

“And you’re not going to not buy this suit! If you appear in something other than this suit for the Christmas Dinner I’m going to--“

“Is everything alright?” The saleswoman stood in the door.

Shao Fei snatched the suit jacket back and tried to not look like he had almost started a tug-of-war with Tang Yi and a jacket that cost more then he will ever make in one year as a police officer.

“Everything is fine,” he said and tried to tell Tang Yi through his mimic that he should stay silent.

“Does the suit fit?”

“Yes, it’s great. Can I just take it with me or…?”

“Of course. If you change, I can pack it up and you can take it home.”

“Right, thanks.” She disappeared with a last polite smile and Shao Fei looked at Tang Yi who continued to frown at him.

“I’m taking the suit, are you happy?”

“What…”

“Can you go now? I have to change.”

Tang Yi opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but seemed to decide against it. He took his time leaving the dressing room and Shao Fei was sure that he would stay guard in front of it so that Shao Fei wouldn’t try to sneak out without the suit.

“Weirdo,” he murmured and undressed. He looked at the price tag again and sighed. It wasn’t like he wasn’t able to afford the suit. Li Zhen transferred him a generous allowance each month and it wouldn’t hurt to tap into that account, and it had been years since they hadn’t been able to afford stuff outside of necessities but… the habit of holding tight to any savings he had wasn’t easy to overcome.

“Just this once,” he murmured. He wanted his dàjiě to be happy and if it made her happy that he would bring a date to her Christmas dinner he would do so. And if it would make Tang Yi happy to see him in an expensive suit so he would pretend to date Shao Fei for one evening so that Shao Fei could make Li Zhen happy…

“People do weirder things,” he decided and folded the clothes carefully.

+++

“What do you think?”

I think this isn’t really a rent-shop, Jack wanted to say but Zhao Zi came out of the dressing room in a suit that finally fit him, so Jack swallowed his words.

Two older men sat in front of the shop and played Mahjong. They had waved them in, without saying a word, when Zhao Zi had asked them if they could rent suits here. Jack had the feeling this was some kind of dummy shop, but Zhao Zi had fun so…

“It looks good,” he said and once again was reminded how fit Zhao Zi was under his normal clothes. He was one little ball of pure muscles and agility and Jack had yet to forget the first time he had seen him doing a backflip without any strain.

“You think so?”, Zhao Zi asked and turned towards the body-length mirror to admire himself. He lifted the jacket to check-out his own butt and Jack knew that he wouldn’t survive the Christmas Dinner. Zhao Zi was already very handsy, hanging on his arm, touching his shoulders and waist all the time and Jack had no idea if he simply was that tactile or if he knew about Jack’s crush and was a damn tease?

“I like that it has a pattern on it,” Zhao Zi said and yes, the swirls in a red thread were subtle but made the suit unique. “Wait! I think I saw a matching piece somewhere in the back. You must try that one! Like a couple’s outfit!” Zhao Zi disappeared and before Jack could say something he came back with a similar suit. The pattern wasn’t red but emerald green and before Jack knew what happened Zhao Zi ushered him in the dressing room with little pats against his butt.

“So not going to survive that,” Jack told his reflection. He was known for his wide smile and cool image but here he was, hair dishevelled with a blush on his cheeks.

“Are you changing?”, Zhao Zi asked from outside the door and Jack knew he would come barging in, so he yelled back: “I’m almost done.”

Maybe that was why Tang Yi always sought out Meng Shao Fei, even though he ended up arguing with him, because the exhilarating feeling of being seen, of getting attention, was worth it.

+++

Shao Fei wasn’t fully awake when his phone woke him. He searched for it with closed eyes and made a triumphant sound when he found it. The voice on the other end when he answered the call woke him up even further.

“We need to meet.”

Shao Fei rubbed his eyes and looked at the display to see how late it was.

“It’s six in the morning, why are you awake?” His voice was rough from sleep and he refused to open his eyes another time.

“I’m running.”

“Why are you running?”

“To stay fit, don’t ask unnecessary questions, Meng Shao Fei. We need to meet.”

“I need to sleep, that’s what I’m going to continue doing, goodbye.”

“Don’t you dare to end this call. We need to talk about some stuff for tomorrow. Can you come to the track and field grounds?”

Shao Fei needed a few minutes to process Tang Yi’s words.

“Now?”

“Of course, now!”

“It’s still dark outside. Tang Yi, why?”, Shao Fei whined.

“You can sleep afterwards. Just come.”

Tang Yi had the gall to hang up and Shao Fei took a pillow to muffle his scream. He was already home for the winter break, so he had a longer way than usual to go to the sports field next to the university.

He should have just asked his junior if she would go to the dinner with him. It may have been a hassle to make it clear to her that it wasn’t a love confession, but it was better than to pass through Taipei in the middle of the night. Shao Fei was tired and why did Tang Yi always want to meet? Phones existed for a reason. He should introduce him to video chatting, he decided.

There was only one person on the sports field and Shao Fei flopped down on the wet grass to wait until the running figure in the distance came closer.

“Show-off,” he murmured. Tang Yi didn’t even look like he had been running around all morning. Was he a sports model? What was he needing the tight trousers for? His hair was unmade and fell him softly in the face. Stupidly attractive.

Shao Fei stood up to meet Tang Yi at the railings.

“This couldn’t have waited a few more hours?”, he asked. Now that Tang Yi was closer, he could see that he sweated like a normal human being. His eyes followed a drop of sweat from his temple down to his neck where it disappeared in the towel Tang Yi had around his throat. He ascribed the clench in his abdomen to the early hour.

“I have a busy schedule until the Christmas dinner, so we have to talk now.”

“What do you have to do during winter break? You’re one semester behind me and I’m allowed to relax.”

Tang Yi scoffed and Shao Fei knew that he had opened himself up to some serious mocking, but Tang Yi just shook his head.

“I’m already working as an intern at _Xing Tian Meng_ , I’m in the mailroom at the moment and the work starts early.”

“Mailroom?”

“I’m going to intern in every department we have in the company.”

“That’s…” _admirable_ Shao Fei wanted to say but Tang Yi wouldn’t let him say it.

“I think we have to talk about how we want to do it, tomorrow.”

“Do it?”

Tang Yi nodded and started to stretch which made Shao Fei lose some brain cells. He saw a bit of Tang Yi’s belly when he put his arms up and swallowed air. He tried to cough as discreetly as possible and asked with a bit of a wheeze in his tone: “What do you want us to do tomorrow?”

“Ignore that we’re fake dating.”

Tang Yi started to stretch out his legs which was Shao Fei’s signal to lean with his back against the railing so he could look in the other direction.

“The moment we meet at the house we ignore the fact that we’re fake dating. We must be in our roles at any time. Even if we are alone, we aren’t allowed to acknowledge the fact that it’s fake.”

A dog barked in the distance and out of the corner of his eyes Shao Fei saw Tang Yi bending his body like he was a damn acrobat. Maybe he needed to be fit to chase after all the boys and girls at the university… Shao Fei shook his head slightly to make the churning feeling in his chest go away.

What Tang Yi suggested made sense.

But…

Shao Fei jumped over the railing in one smooth move. Tang Yi raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t step back when Shao Fei invaded his personal space.

“Then I’m going to kiss you now.”

The world seemed to stand still. Shao Fei only heard the sound of their breathing and saw how Tang Yi’s face got slack for a moment.

“What?”

“My sister knows how I am when I’m in a relationship. We should get the first kiss out of the way.”

It was logical, Shao Fei thought. He was an affectionate person and if Li Zhen should buy their lie, he was going to touch Tang Yi at some point.

Tang Yi carried on with just standing there, not moving a muscle. Shao Fei took that as a ‘do it’ because Tang Yi knew how to say no. He took his face between his hands and kissed him.

It didn’t feel exciting at first. He felt a bit of beard stubble against his skin, he smelt the sweetness of Tang Yi’s sweat and the unmistakable smell of early morning. Earthy and fresh. But the moment he retreated; the last touch of their lips made him want more.

In the distance, a dog barked again. Behind Tang Yi, the sky was painted in red and orange and the rattle of blinds of the building next to the field reminded Shao Fei that the world kept spinning.

Tang Yi just looked at him. Not in disgust or anger or maybe Shao Fei wasn’t as good in reading him as he always thought. There was no frown on his forehead, his eyes dark orbits like always.

Shao Fei quelled the urge to touch his lips, fell back on his heels and said: “This will work.” He waved at Tang Yi before he jumped over the railing again.

“See you tomorrow,” he yelled and ran up the hill.

Later, as he sat in the metro, he was only able to bump his head against the window because really?

“ _This will work_ ,” he repeated his words. “How stupid can you be?”

He only ever kissed people he had wanted to kiss so the sudden desire when the kiss had been about to stop confused him. He could admit that Tang Yi was attractive. Everyone with eyes would admit that he was attractive. According to his dàjiě, he could be charming, too, Shao Fei knew enough stories from campus about Tang Yi and his conquests.

It was good that he liked the kiss, right? It would make everything easier.

+++

The mansion was lit up with lanterns and fairy lights and Shao Fei had no chance to ring the bell because Li Zhen was opening the door before he could and Shao Fei knew she wanted to know as quickly as possible who his date was but her words got stuck in her throat.

“Oh my god! You look so good!”, she exclaimed, and Shao Fei rolled his eyes.

“Did you think I would come in sweatpants?”

“So handsome!” She smiled widely at him and took his head between her hands. “I would have forced you to wear a suit earlier if I had known it would look so good on you.”

“You look great too,” Shao Fei said, and it was true. Her eyes sparkled and she was beautiful in a navy-blue dress with pearls sewn at the neck. Shao Fei had been a surprise baby, and his sister was 15 years older than him and even though for a long time now she had been partly parent/partly sister she never had lost her sunny nature.

“Now confess,” she demanded, hugged him and looked over his shoulder. “Who is your date. It’s Xiao An, right?”

“It’s not Zhao Zi,” Shao Fei groaned. She pinched him against the shoulder and dragged him inside. It already smelled heavenly and he heard the chatter of people from the living room.

“It’s me,” said a voice from the stairs next to the door and if Shao Fei wouldn’t have seen Tang Yi in a suit before he might have gaped at him.

“What?”, Li Zhen said and looked between them. “What?”

Shao Fei took a deep breath and stretched out his arm. With a soft smile, that transformed Tang Yi’s face into something Shao Fei no longer knew, he took the last steps and Shao Fei’s hand.

“My date,” Shao Fei announced. “Surprise.”

Li Zhen looked down at their joined hands, up again, back down and then squealed.

“I knew it!”

Shao Fei blinked. “You knew it?” But Li Zhen was already walking back into the house.

“Guo Dong-ge is owing me. Owing me!”

“What is she talking about?” Shao Fei was baffled. Tang Yi shrugged his shoulders and then leaned forward to kiss him softly on the cheek.

“We should follow her,” he said in total disregard of Shao Fei’s internal turmoil. What followed was something Shao Fei hadn’t foreseen. He had heard Tang Yi’s words to immerse themselves into their fake dating, but he hadn’t thought about that Tang Yi would _do_ it. The smug smile when he introduced Shao Fei to his father, the way he put his hand on Shao Fei’s lower back when they made their way around the living room. The times he used his pinkie finger to touch Shao Fei’s, little sparks travelling up and down Shao Fei’s arm. Then Zhao Zi arrived with Jack, in matching suits, and everything got even more bizarre.

Tang Yi started to show him off.

“He’s one of only three criminology students who won a mock trial against a law student. The professor chased him for three weeks to change his major,” Tang Yi told during dinner and how did he even know that? Shao Fei didn’t have to play his embarrassment.

“He never told me!”, Li Zhen said and what followed was a retelling of Shao Fei’s first two semesters from the mouth of Tang Yi.

“It’s not that important,” he repeated for the thousand times and squeezed Tang Yi’s hand under the table. _‘Stop talking about me,’_ he mouthed at him, but Tang Yi just smiled, indulgent, as if they argued about Tang Yi’s problem with oversharing often.

When Tang Guo Dong wanted to serve an old wine, Shao Fei took the chance to escape for a moment.

“You have no idea where the wine is,” Tang Yi said and followed him. Shao Fei knew that they had agreed to not fall out of their roles, but he had to lean against the counter for a moment and take a deep breath.

“If you go on like that my dàjiě will call you every week to find out what I have been up to.”

“How do you know she doesn’t do that already?” Tang Yi waggled his eyebrows at him, and it was such a stupid move Shao Fei could only laugh. He watched as Tang Yi opened the wine bottle and poured the liquid into a decanter. It was still unbelievable that he was here, faking a date and not having the wish to throttle Tang Yi. This was either a different side of Tang Yi or he belonged on a stage instead of an office. Was this how Tang Yi would act in a relationship? Shao Fei had heard about the way he flirted himself through the student body, but it had felt like the gossip exaggerated…

“It’s a really nice dinner,” Shao Fei said softly, and an ache started to spread through his chest as Tang Yi smiled at him with warm eyes.

Would he know this side of Tang Yi if they hadn’t started on the wrong foot back in high school?

“My father will say it was no bother, but he was up at six to start prepping the dinner.”

Shao Fei was known to act on instinct so why should this be different? Tang Yi didn’t flinch, didn’t hesitate as Shao Fei slid his arm around his waist to bring him close. There was a smoothness to their movements as if they done this a hundred times.

He fell into the kiss and Shao Fei hadn’t known that it could feel like this. Tang Yi was pliant and responsive in his arms and all Shao Fei wanted to do was to live up to that trust, to earn the right to do this every day.

He buried his hands in Tang Yi’s hair and suddenly the simple kiss got heated and gosh Shao Fei wanted Tang Yi out of this goddamn suit –

“Hey!”

They jumped apart and Shao Fei stared at Li Zhen with swollen lips and a daze made of lust over his eyes.

“You two can’t just abandon us and make out in the kitchen,” she hissed at them with a wide smile and swatted a kitchen towel against Shao Fei.

“Back with you two.”

Shao Fei couldn’t meet Tang Yi’s eyes and just smiled in apology to his sister. His heart was about to beat out of his chest, and he gulped down a huge glass of water as he sat down back on the table.

“Everything alright?”, Zhao Zi asked him in a whisper and Shao Fei nodded. _Gosh no_ , he wanted to say. _Nothing is alright._

+++

“You think something happened between A-Fei and Tang Yi in the kitchen?”, Zhao Zi asked as Jack walked him back to his home. “They were so… flustered.”

Jack couldn’t believe that Zhao Zi was so naïve to not recognize kiss-swollen lips when he saw them, so he just made a non-committal sound. It was almost two in the morning and they had loosened their ties, strolling through Zhao Zi’s neighbourhood towards his home.

“Thanks for walking with me,” Zhao Zi said when they stopped at a gate and he smiled up at Jack in a way that made his knees weak. He should really muster up all of his courage to confess and –

“Whoa!”

Zhao Zi had wrapped his arms around Jack’s neck and if Jack wasn’t misinterpreting the current events, he had been about to kiss him.

Zhao Zi blinked up at him and the way his face fell made Jack want to punch himself.

“Oh,” he said. “I thought… I thought this was a date. I’m… oh my god, I’m sorry!”

“No! No, what?”

“Did you go out with me out of pity? I thought I asked you out properly, I thought…”

Jack silenced him with a kiss. Zhao Zi was stiff for a moment but then kissed back with enthusiasm and he almost toppled them over as he jumped up to wrap his legs around Jack’s waist.

“No pity. Definitely no pity!”, Jack murmured against Zhao Zi’s lips and they stumbled through the gate with breathless laughter.

+++

If this continued the table at the cafeteria would become is go-to-spot for self-pity. Shao Fei bumped his head against the wood and whined as he saw that Zhao Zi sat down next to him.

“Why are you whining A-Fei?”

Shao Fei lifted his head and wanted to start complaining to Zhao Zi about his new emotions regarding Tang Yi when he locked eyes with Jack. Jack… who… who held hands with Zhao Zi while feeding him.

What?

“What?”

Zhao Zi looked at him as if it was the most normal thing in the world to hold hands with Jack.

“When did this happen?”, Shao Fei asked.

“If you wouldn’t have holed up in your apartment for a whole week you would have known about this earlier,” Zhao Zi said, and Shao Fei had to witness how Jack cleaned a piece of rice from Zhao Zi’s cheek.

“What?”

“Tang Yi is running laps. You should go to him,” Jack said and the fond look on his face disappeared the second he looked at Shao Fei. It was a bit disconcerting.

“Go!”, Zhao Zi commanded, and Shao Fei picked up his backpack hastily. He had landed in a parallel universe over the winter break. There was no other explanation for this turn of events. When had Zhao Zi and Jack ever talked to each other? He had thought them coming to the Christmas dinner together had been because they, too, had made some kind of fake-dating dare.

The Christmas Dinner…

He shuffled along the cobbled pavement and wanted nothing more than to go back to his room and hide under the blanket. After the kiss in the kitchen, he hadn’t been able to take his fingers off Tang Yi. Their good-bye kiss… alone the thought made Shao Fei’s toes curl. He would have spent the night, no matter the consequences if his sister wouldn’t have dragged him away.

And now… now he was in some kind of post-Christmas Dinner slump and all his feelings were jumbled up. Who was the real Tang Yi? Why had he known so much about what Shao Fei did at the university? Why had his sister said, ‘I knew it!’?

Yeah… maybe he shouldn’t have hidden in his room for the rest of the break.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the sports field but now a lot more students were training there. Nevertheless, he spotted Tang Yi in no time. Still looking like a damn sports model.

Shao Fei leaned against one of the railings to wait until Tang Yi would pass him and it was a special kind of thrill when Tang Yi seemed to have spotted him too and after he stopped and most likely thought about what he would do, walked towards him.

“What brings you here Meng Shao Fei?”

And it was easy, Shao Fei thought. The truth was: it was easy.

“Haven't we passed those formalities?”

Tang Yi looked a bit taken aback by Shao Fei’s cheekiness. Whatever he had planned to say stuck in his throat. Then, the typical arrogance took hold over him, Shao Fei saw it in the way he held himself. First, he frowned, then he pursed his lips and then he tilted his head to look Shao Fei over. 

“We should date,” he said, finally, and Shao Fei nodded.

“We should.”

“Because you like me.”

“Yes, and because you like me too,” Shao Fei said and pulled Tang Yi closer.

“I liked you longer. Just that you know what kind of story you going to tell people.”

Shao Fei laughed and leaned his head against Tang Yi’s shoulder. “So, this was some kind of pigtail-pulling-situation.”

Tang Yi mumbled something that sounded like he wanted to deny everything and embraced Shao Fei.

“The railing is in the way, jump over,” he demanded, and Shao Fei laughed again.

“You jump over it,” he said but already started the climb to Tang Yi’s side. Oh, and there was the face again. The soft smile, apparently only for Shao Fei.

They kissed and someone yelled: “Get a room!”

**Author's Note:**

> The following sentences were used from the request and belong to casey_miller:  
>  _“You’re flirting ain’t shit, ‘Prince of the Campus’ my ass.”  
>  “Fuck you, Meng Shao Fei.”  
> “Try me.”  
> _  
> I loved them so I put them in the story! 
> 
> Please, dear law students, don't come at me for the mock trial stuff - I thought it would be funny and I have no idea if something like that exists :D 
> 
> And now I hope you had fun reading <3


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